If It Ain't Broke
by gothicorca1895
Summary: In Litwak's arcade, hardware malfunctions are some of the most nerve-wracking possibilities imaginable - if your hardware is broken, your game will be unplugged, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. It's very distressing, but such a thing could never happen to a game that's withstood the test of time, like Fix-It Felix Jr...could it? Coauthored with Cryssy-miu. Includes OCs. SPOILERS!
1. Stripes

_A/N - Okay, I've never written for Wreck-It Ralph before and I have a bunch of non fanfic projects going on at the moment, but I just had to give this idea a try! This is technically coauthored with writer Cryssy-miu, and although I'm not sure how much involvement she'll have with it, she at least deserves credit as a creative consultant. I'll make sure to let you guys know which chapters she writes._

_Also, for the sake of plot n' stuff, this takes place seven or eight months after the end of the movie and Felix and Calhoun aren't married yet. Okay? Get it, got it, good._

_Other than that, enjoy!_

* * *

**If It Ain't Broke  
**_Chapter 1: Stripes_

Being part of a game at Litwak's Arcade was alternatively satisfying, infuriating, and nerve-wracking. It was satisfying when a game ended and the gamer was pleased, and you could sit back and smile, knowing that you'd done exactly as you were meant to do. It was infuriating when whoever was controlling you didn't know what they were doing and you were forced to obey their commands while knowing that _you were better than this_, or – if you were a villain – when you didn't get half the respect of the hero for working twice as hard. And it was nerve-wracking for a number of reasons. There were a lot of things to be afraid of in Litwak's Arcade.

One thing was travel. It was nice to get out, see new settings, and meet new friends, but everyone knew that if you died outside of your game, you'd be gone for good. It was enough to turn more paranoid characters into stubborn recluses. Another drawback was getting unplugged. Usually there was forewarning if that was going to happen, in the form of an enormous "OUT OF ORDER" sign slapped onto the screen, but everyone still worried in a far corner of their mind that their game would be decommissioned without cause, and that their lives would end in the blink of an eye (or the pull of a cord). And then there were hardware glitches. Horrible, horrible hardware glitches.

People and places were a part of the software, which they had control over, to an extent. The hardware was the actual machinery that kept the software running. If the hardware of your game started malfunctioning, you couldn't go anything about it, except cross your fingers and hope that the mechanic could fix the problem. If he couldn't, then you'd be unplugged, no if, ands, or buts about it. The latter scenario had only occurred twice in Litwak's Arcade, since games were normally removed due to lack of interest or software errors, not irreparable damage.

Super Rocketeer had been one of the first games in the arcade. About ten years ago, its inhabitants had noticed that their screen was behaving strangely, often obscuring their view of the outside with random colored lines. The gamers noticed the obstruction, too, and complained about it. Then the screen had lost all power, a phenomenon that was completely unheard of. Most of the Super Rocketeer characters had abandoned ship during this frightening blackout. Those who didn't were erased when the aging cabinet lost power completely and was subsequently unplugged and towed away.

A much newer game, Guitar Master 8000, had met the same fate a few years later. Fortunately, everyone was able to get out okay.

Most of the time, no one bothered to worry about what would happen to them if their game's hardware went haywire. They had faith in their machinery, especially if they lived in a game that had withstood the test of time…say, Fix-It Felix Jr. Things like blackouts were very scary and distressing, but surely nothing like that could ever happen to them…

Could it?

…

On a typical afternoon, Ralph was tossing bricks down the side of the Niceland apartment building as he was supposed to, and Felix was being jerked around from ledge to ledge by a gamer, swinging his hammer and snagging the occasional pie. Ralph watched as the numbers rose up and evaporated. 100, 100, 100, 200, 100, BONUS; at least they seemed to have someone with skill today. After so many years of working together, he could always tell when Felix was getting worried or annoyed about whoever was controlling him.

For the first time that day, the game was completed, and all of the Nicelanders hoisted Ralph up as they prepared to throw him off of the roof. He smiled internally. There were still several more hours before the arcade closed, and depending on the skill of the next players, this might be the only chance he'd get to see Vanellope in action. He angled his head subtly in order to get a better view of Sugar Rush…

Just in time for a series of multicolored stripes to explode across the screen out of nowhere, like a neon sideways rainbow. They didn't cover the whole thing, but it was enough to be noticeable.

"Hey!" shouted the kid at the console indignantly. He reached out his arm, and the world trembled around Ralph as the gamer's fist presumably smacked against the side of the cabinet. An uneasy mutter rose up from the Nicelanders, but before he could make out any words, he was tumbling through the air until he landed, face-down, in the ever-present mud puddle on the ground.

By the time he had pushed himself up and wiped the dirt away from his eyes, the stripes were gone.

…

There were a few more sessions that day. Fix-It Felix Jr. had enjoyed a spike in popularity after the retro characters had first joined them, but after a few weeks, levels had gradually gone back to normal. This had surprised no one; they knew exactly how long most gamers' attention spans were. Ralph, despite his resolution to take life "one game at a time," always looked forward to closing, but today, he was particularly anxious for it.

Somebody lost, somebody else won. He waited in his mud puddle for a while, sneaking occasional glances up at the screen. There was a scuffle in the arcade, which ended in Litwak separating a couple of kids on the verge of a fistfight; over at Hero's Duty, a girl screamed as a Cy-bug lunged at her, prompting laughter from all her friends; Vanellope was taken out for a few rounds of Sugar Rush. He felt calmer when he saw her, even though he was only looking at the back of her head. He was unable to see what Felix and the Nicelanders were doing from his current location.

In the down-time between games, he kept expecting more stripes to creep over their window to the outside world, but everything ran smoothly. Hopefully he had just imagined the malfunction. _Vanellope would lose a life laughing at me_, he told himself. _If she saw me this worried, she'd never let me live it down…_

And at last, the arcade door was locked for the night, and the game characters were free to do as they chose.

"All clear!" called Felix from the top of the building.

Ralph extricated himself from the mud puddle's sludgy embrace and stood up, swiping the glop from his broad arms as the Nicelanders began to leave their in-game formations, and headed towards the neighborhood of leftover bricks that had come to be called Niceland Village. It also happened to be the direction of the exit to Game Central Station. He was scheduled to pay Vanellope a visit in Sugar Rush today, and with any luck, he'd be able to catch Felix before the handyman went off to…wherever he was going. Probably on a hot date. Ralph smirked inwardly at the thought.

He looked over at the screen again, but it was still unblemished, displaying nothing but the normal evening landscape of the arcade.

Felix came trotting over soon enough, with a spring in his step and a hummed tune buzzing on his lips. He had tucked a flower into his shirt pocket, meaning that there could be no doubt about his destination tonight. He sent a cheerful wave in Ralph's direction as he passed.

"Hey, Felix," started Ralph. "Did you see what happened this afternoon?"

Felix paused. "What do you mean?"

"I think the screen glitched. It was earlier today, right when you guys were lifting me up to throw me off the building. Did you see those weird colored lines?"

Felix blinked, and the optimism on his face flickered for the merest second. Then he smiled. "Yeah, I remember. The player hit the cabinet and made the ground shake. Right."

"Right." Ralph looked at the smaller man expectantly. "So…do you think we should be worried about it?"

It was funny how Felix was always automatically treated as the leader in every situation. Even before the whole game-jumping incident, before Ralph and Felix had been anything close to friends, Ralph had still treated Felix as if he was the supreme authority of the game. It was all in the programming, of course. There were some more overt controls that could be challenged, but some bits of code ran so deep that they were never even noticed.

"No, of course not!" declared Felix. "You know how technology works. Everything gets a little flickery sometimes. But this old cabinet has served us well for almost thirty-one years. A couple of glitches are nothing to be scared about."

"Got it. Glad you think so." Ralph exhaled and allowed a small smile to slip across his face. Everything was fine, everything was normal, he had no reason to be concerned…especially not now, at the best time of the day, when he was about to go see Vanellope.

"You're going to Sugar Rush, right?" asked Felix, changing the subject. Ralph nodded. "You can tag along to Game Central Station with me, if you want. I'm off to Hero's Duty to meet Tammy."

Ralph snorted. "_Tammy_?"

"I mean, Sergeant Calhoun!" sputtered Felix, his cheeks turning red with a hot blush, or a "glow," as he would call it.

"Wow, I didn't know that you two were on a first-name basis now. This must be getting serious," teased Ralph. "Because, y'know, I'm pretty sure that Calhoun would give me a plasma blast right in the face if I tried calling her _Tammy_."

"She's not like that," insisted Felix gravely. "I mean, in battle she is, but that's because she has to be. Outside of game time, she's sweet, and fun, and beautiful…she's one dynamite gal."

"If you say so," said Ralph, who would never in a million years think to apply the adjectives _sweet_ or _beautiful_ to Sergeant Calhoun.

They chattered idly as they rode their pitiful little trolley into Game Central Station. The whole thing was the picture of peace and normality, so much so that Ralph managed to avoid realizing that they were pointedly keeping themselves from talking about the stripes. After a few more minutes, they split up, and Ralph breezed right into Sugar Rush without being subjected to any "random" security interrogations.

Admittedly, he still found the environment of Sugar Rush to be garish and grating, and it seemed that a clumsy guy like him couldn't make the trek to the castle without falling into something sticky along the way. Today was no exception, and although he was pretty sure that he'd shaken off most of the jelly bean berries by the time he reached his destination, he was still greeted by the unimpressed face of Sour Bill when he arrived at the main entrance. "Oh, it's you," muttered the amorphous attendant.

Ralph rolled his eyes. There were still some people who would dislike him no matter what, he figured, although Sour Bill didn't actually seem to like anybody. "Yeah, it's me. Can you go tell the President that I'm here to see her?"

"There's no need for that," answered Sour Bill begrudgingly. "She's already expecting you. Follow me."

Ralph did so, doing his best to squeeze into the castle. His shoulder chipped off a piece of the doorway as he worked his way in.

"And don't do that!" snapped Sour Bill without turning around.

Ralph muttered an oath under his breath, brushing off his shoulder in a way that hopefully wouldn't cause him to break anything else. For the past few months, he had been keeping his temper in check with a decent amount of success, but he could still often cause destruction by just his sheer size. This was especially true in a game world like Sugar Rush, which had been designed for tiny, cute characters and not hulking villains. Luckily, he made it to the throne room without further incident.

"President von Schweetz," announced Sour Bill as they entered, "you have a visitor."

A little girl of approximately nine years old, with black candy-spattered hair pulled into a loose ponytail and a ratty mint green hoodie, was bouncing around the room like the hyperactive bundle of energy that she was. "Ralph, my main man!" she exclaimed. "What took you so long?"

"Oh, come on! I'm not even five minutes late this time!" protested Ralph. She scampered over to him, and he knelt down so that he was at the appropriate level for Vanellope to tap fists with him. "How's it going, kid?"

"Fine. How's it going for you, stink-brain?"

"Just fine. Did you get picked for a lot of races today?"

"A few. I had to do some sitting out, though. I guess that there were some new players who hadn't heard yet that I'm the most awesomest racer ever!"

Ralph rolled his eyes again, but now he was grinning. The thing about Vanellope was that she could be extremely irritating – in fact, she was hands-down the most annoying person he'd ever called his friend – but her enthusiasm was infectious. No matter how nerve-grating she got, he could never get past the fact that he was happy just to be with her. "Well, that's their loss. Why don't you tell me about something exciting that happened today?"

This was a sort of ritual that they had developed since they'd started visiting each other. It was actually a way for him to let her blow off steam so that she wasn't unbearably hyper, but she didn't need to know that. She was talkative, and she certainly enjoyed talking about herself, so he let her blabber on a bit about a particularly exhilarating victory that had taken place during one of the day's races. He smiled and nodded, saying "Wow!" or "No way!" at the appropriate times, and sure enough, by the time she'd finished she was noticeably calmer.

"Hey, Ralph," she remarked. "Do you know who I never see anymore?"

"Who?"

"Felix!" She wrinkled her nose. "I don't think I've seen him, in, like a month. What's his problem? Doesn't he like me?"

Ralph smiled slightly. "Sure he does. If it makes you feel better, I haven't seen him that much, either. Outside of work, I mean."

"How come?"

"Because he's always going off to Hero's Duty to visit his girlfriend Sergeant Calhoun – excuse me, I mean _Tammy_."

Vanellope burst into a fit of giggles. "Sergeant Calhoun's first name is Tammy? I'm so going to call her that the next time I see her!" She paused. "Y'know, come to think of it, I haven't seen her lately, either."

He shrugged. "I guess that's what happens when you fall in love with someone. You just want to spend time with your girlfriend or boyfriend, and it's like eve3rybody else doesn't exist anymore. I'm sure they're not doing it to be mean. They're just…" He tried to formulate a good word. "Infatuated."

"In-FAT-choo-ay-ted," mimicked Vanellope. "What's that mean?"

"Basically, it means that they're being lovebirds. You know, like 'Felix and Tammy, sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G…'"

"First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage!" She finished the chant, cackling delightedly. "Their baby is going to look so weird!"

Ralph tried to picture it, but the combination of the absurd concept and Vanellope's contagious snickers soon got him laughing so hard that tears were pressing at the corner of his eyes.

"Anyway," she continued, after the humor value had worn off. "What would you do if I got a boyfriend and we got in-FAT-choo-ay-ted, Ralph?"

He seriously doubted that she would ever reach the maturity level required for having an actual boyfriend, but he could tell that she was just joking around, so he pretended to give serious contemplation to the concept. "I don't know…" He pondered. "I guess I would probably beat him up."

"No, don't!" she squealed. "You wouldn't _really_ do that, would you? I'll tell you what. If you don't beat up my future boyfriend, I won't beat up your future girlfriend. Deal?"

All right, he absolutely knew _that_ was an impossibility, not to mention the fact that Vanellope wasn't an intimidating presence even to a nonexistent girlfriend. But instead he just chuckled and answered, "Sure, kid, it's a deal. And if you really wanted to see Felix again, I'm sure that I could pry him away from his lady friend for a few hours."

"He should come here. And the sergeant as well. And the Nicelanders!" She spread her arms, as if to encapsulate the number of people that her invitation included. "We should have _everybody_ come here, and then it will be a party!"

"A party?" he repeated. "A party celebrating what? The fact that there's nothing to celebrate?"

"Exactly," she agreed. "There's never a wrong time for a party, is there?"

Ralph remembered the last major party he'd been to, which had been more than six months ago, on the thirtieth anniversary of his game. He had crashed the gathering in more ways than one, and it had only served to confirm just how poorly the Nicelanders thought of him. It had set him on his course to find a medal, from Tapper to Hero's Duty to Sugar Rush, in a series of events that had changed his life for the better…

So maybe normality really was something to celebrate, when his current definition of normality was so much more enjoyable than it had been just a few short months ago.

"Of course not," he declared. "I'll definitely try to get ahold of Felix and Calhoun for you, and we'll all pick a date and a time. A party sounds just about right to me."

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_A/N #2 - I like feedback, and since I've never written for this fandom before, please shoot me a review to tell me how you think I'm doing thus far! Constructive crits appreciated! Thanks!_


	2. Pop goes the question

**If It Ain't Broke**

_Chapter 2: Pop goes the question_

As Ralph and Vanellope continued to discuss the plans for their impromptu celebration, Ralph's more popular coworker, Felix, had retreated to the culinary game King of the Kitchen and was currently gazing into the eyes of his "dynamite gal." The game, which was a flurry of demanding customers and speedy player-controlled chefs during the day, had undergone a transformation to become a low-key, casual gathering place where game characters could hang out, grab a bite to eat, or bring their dates for a romantic evening. One glance at Felix and Calhoun's intimate table for two was enough to know which option they were there for.

Neither of them had dressed for the occasion. He still wore his trusty handyman garb, with the addition of a little flower tucked into his shirt pocket, and she was clad in armor from head to foot. Amongst the soft candlelit atmosphere of their corner of the restaurant, complete with lacy tablecloths and floral centerpieces, they looked very out of place. It would be a lie to say that they weren't feeling slightly awkward, but that took a backseat to the enjoyment they got out of being with one another. They were, as Ralph had so accurately proclaimed, _infatuated._

"So, did you see that fight over by the change machines today?" asked Felix, to start the conversation. "Litwak had to separate a couple of boys who were going at each other."

Calhoun shook her head in disgust. "It's people like that who give gamers a bad name. Imagine if one of them had actually hit the other! The next thing you know, we'd be seeing headlines about how video games are poisoning children's brains, it would become a public health crisis, mothers would start boycotting the arcade, and all the rest." She took a sip of water from her glass, then slammed it down for emphasis. "As if we're the ones to blame for some teenagers throwing temper tantrums."

He agreed wholeheartedly. "Back when our game first got plugged in, you'd never hear anything like that. But I guess video games have gotten more violent since then, huh? And parents always need someone to blame."

A very chibi waitress, with glistening anime eyes and a bandana tied over her hair, scuttled up to their table. "Would you like some wine?" she inquired in a thick French accent.

"No, thank you," answered Calhoun, in a somewhat forced attempt at politeness. Barking orders at frightened soldiers was still her main method of social interaction, even so many months after Hero's Duty had been plugged in. "I don't like to drink. It takes me off my guard."

The waitress turned to Felix questioningly, but he just shrugged and stated, "I won't have anything to drink if she's not."

"What kind of game _is_ this, anyway?" demanded Calhoun after the waitress had hurried off again.

"King of the Kitchen? As far as I know, it's almost like a collection of cooking-themed minigames," Felix told her. "There's a baking activity, a grilling activity, a special mode where you have to cook the food and serve it while being timed…all kinds of things. Even a Tetris knockoff with falling fruit instead of falling blocks!" He smiled, a tad embarrassed, and became aware that his cheeks were "glowing" again. "I hope you don't mind. It was the only place I could think of where we could get a decent bite to eat, and it seemed more interesting than just going back and forth to each other's games again."

"Hey, now, don't start getting flustered over me." She smirked uneasily. "As long as I'm with you, I'm just fine."

"You…you have no idea how happy I am to hear that." Felix reached across the table and gingerly took her hand. "Tammy…you know how much I love you, right? Ever since I met you, you've completed me in a way that no amount of extra lives could compare to."

She averted her eyes, trying not to blush like a schoolgirl. "That's sweet, Felix. And I love you too."

"I've been thinking about this for a while," he continued, fumbling around in his pocket for something. "I didn't tell anyone, though…I wanted it to be a surprise…"

Calhoun suddenly got a bad feeling about where this discussion was headed. She didn't like surprises, for one thing, since in her line of work the word "surprise" was usually followed by the word "attack." And besides that, she'd heard this type of language before. If he was really about to say what she suspected he would…

And she, who could labor under the dead eyes of innumerable Cy-Bugs without betraying a single nervous twitch, suddenly felt a rush of lightheaded anxiety fall upon her as the other restaurant patrons shot anticipated stares in their direction. Felix left his chair and got down on one knee. He produced the item that he had been searching in his pocket for: a plain golden wedding band. "Tammy Calhoun," he pronounced, holding the ring up to her, "will you marry me?"

She pressed her hand against her lips. It seemed to be the only action she was capable of carrying out.

"Felix…" she breathed out at last. "This means a lot coming from you. I can't remember the last time anyone did something so nice for me…"

His lips started to stretch into a smile, and he reached out to slip the ring over her finger, only to have her withdraw her hand.

"But I'm afraid I can't accept your offer," she finished, her voice brimming with guilt. "I'm sorry."

Felix blinked. He didn't seem to be fully registering her rejection yet, but she could have sworn that his eyes had moistened just a touch, and the glow was quickly draining out of his face. "W…what?"

"Don't take this the wrong way!" she reassured him quickly. "I still love you, and I want to keep seeing you, if you'll have me. It's just that – "

"It's the ring, isn't it?" he interrupted frantically, clamping the wedding band between his palms as if it were a venomous insect that might reach out and bite her. "I knew I should have gone for something with a diamond in it! It's just that it took me so long to save up for it, and I figured that you weren't really the flashy kind of gal, not when it comes to jewelry, anyway…"

"What?! No, Felix, that's not it at all – "

"Oh, I knew this was going to happen!" he fretted. "I knew it was too good to be true! I kept telling myself, she's from a high def game, she's a real hero, she's so far out of your league. And maybe I was being too hasty, but you have to understand, I really and truly thought that you might – "

"_Felix!_" she barked, and her voice automatically snapped into its sharp, no-nonsense, soldier-ordering tone. He fell silent immediately, and when she saw a tight swallow move down the length of his throat, she immediately wanted to smack herself for being so coarse. Sometimes she was grateful for her skills at getting people's attention, but it wasn't always the kind of attention she wanted.

Noting that the other diners were still gaping at them, she gripped his arm gently and muttered, "Look, can we step outside for a second? I need to talk to you in private."

Felix nodded miserably, and he was dragging his feet a bit as she tugged him out.

Outside of the restaurant, there was nothing but a black void – empty space that the developers hadn't bothered to fill, since this area was inaccessible to the players – so the two of them sat down on the steps, the only solid objects in sight. "Ma'am," said Felix, and now there was an audible tremble in his voice, "I didn't mean to make you angry, honestly I didn't..."

She hushed him. "You didn't make me angry, and enough with the 'ma'am' business." She was now wishing that she'd dressed more appropriately for the date, since it was hard to convey a tender touch while she was so heavily armored. "Pull yourself together, soldier. I'm not breaking up with you."

"You're not?" Felix unclenched his palm and snuck another peek at the ring. "But then why – "

"I'm just not ready to think about getting married again," she interrupted. "We've been dating for several months, and it's been wonderful, really it has. But I just don't feel like it's enough time for me to make such a big decision. You're a great guy, Felix, and I do love you. Don't ever doubt that. But we've got to take this slow if we want it to work out."

He swiped at his eyes with the back of his glove. "O-oh, of course…I understand. We can take things as slowly as you want to!" He was trying to sound like his normal chipper self, with limited success.

Calhoun sighed. "Things can change so quickly here. You think you're getting into a routine, and then BLAM! Something like that Turbo catastrophe happens. So we have no reason to rush. We don't need to be married to have each other. Plus, with a little time, who knows?" She managed to wink.

This time, his smile was more genuine. "Right. Gotcha."

"Now, wipe that sour look off your face, and let's get back inside and finish our date."

"Yes ma'am." Felix dropped the ring back into his pocket. "Just a quick question, though, did you like the ring? Was it too plain? Just so I know, in case there's a next time…"

She leaned down and planted a kiss on his lips, and the honey glow popped right back into his cheeks.

"It was just perfect," she told him.

…

By the time Felix had finished dinner, made arrangements for his next meeting with Calhoun, walked through Game Central Station, and taken the little carts back into his respective game, he still felt like an idiot. After all of that work to acquire a ring and his struggles to avoid spreading a word of his plans to any of his friends our colleagues, he had still been…well, not quite _rejected_, he supposed, since she hadn't broken up with him, but they weren't engaged either. And he couldn't seem to stop scolding himself over it. _Stupid, didn't you know that she wouldn't agree so quickly?! After all, it wasn't that long ago that she was standing at the altar with his last fiancée! You've just done nothing but bring up a bunch of bad memories for her, and honestly, you're LUCKY that she didn't dump you right then and there! You would have deserved it if she had!_

He trudged past Niceland Village dejectedly. Between the date and the stripes that had appeared on the screen a few hours earlier, this just didn't seem to be his day at all.

"Hey, Felix!" called a familiar voice, and the forlorn handyman turned to find Ralph coming towards him, heading up the path that led from the village block.

"Hi, brother." Felix smiled weakly, hoping that his face didn't look as guilty and sad as he thought it did.

"Jeez, you're uncharacteristically late," Ralph commented. "So how did your hot date with _Tammy_ go?"

"Um…okay. I-it was okay," stammered Felix.

Ralph's brow crinkled. "…is something wrong?"

Felix sighed. He'd known that it would be too much to hope that his mood would go unnoticed. After all, since when did he come home from a date looking this upset? "Kind of. You see, I…I asked her if she would marry me," he admitted.

Ralph hesitated. "Normally I'd say that's great and congratulations, but I'm guessing that it didn't go well?"

"Sadly, no."

"She didn't break up with you, did she?!"

"Okay, it didn't go _that_ badly!" contradicted Felix hurriedly. "She just said that she didn't feel ready to get engaged again and she wanted to wait a while longer."

"That's fine, I guess." Ralph was still eyeing the smaller man suspiciously. "Why the long face, though? It's not like she hates you or anything…"

"How do I know she doesn't?" blurted Felix. "What if she's losing interest in me and she just doesn't want to say so – or worse, what if she found somebody else, someone more dynamite than me?! What then?!

"Oh, come on!" scoffed Ralph. "Who could she possibly find who would be a better guy than you? And I may not know much about women, but Calhoun seems pretty, uh, _direct_ to me. I think that if she had a problem with you, she'd just say it."

Felix sucked in a large breath of air, reminding himself that he couldn't let his heart override his brain at a time like this. After all, he was no what-iffer. He and Calhoun had both been through some rough times in their lives, but the important thing was that they'd both come out of it all right, and now they had each other. "You're right. You're absolutely right. Sorry about that, I guess I'm getting a little carried away."

"Hey, if it makes you feel any better, I think I'd be upset, too, if I had somebody turn down my marriage proposal like that…"

Suddenly, the dim after-hours glow emanating from the screen changed colors – became multicolored, in fact. Both hero and villain's head swiveled upwards. Rainbow lines had exploded across their window to the outside world once again, but this time there were more of them, and they were thicker, and they seemed somehow more malicious. Ralph and Felix waited tensely in the uncomfortable light.

"Um, Felix?" Ralph finally spoke up. "Wasn't something like this the first sign of trouble with Super Rocketeer and that one guitar game, back when they first started having their hardware glitches?"

"Yes, I'm pretty sure it was," mumbled Felix.

"So…are you _sure_ that this is nothing to worry about?"

"Um, maybe we should be a _little bit_ worried now…"

The stripes begrudgingly flickered out of existence about a minute later. By that time, they had been up there long enough for everyone in Niceland Village and the apartments to see them, and Felix and Ralph both knew it.

"You know, not too many games make it to thirty-one years," said Ralph.

"I know," replied Felix uncomfortably. "Um, if you'll excuse me, brother, I'm pretty beat…I'd like to get a few hours of shut-eye before the arcade opens tomorrow. After all, we've got to be ready for anything, right?"

"We sure do. I'd better get some sleep myself. Night, Felix."

"Good night, Ralph."

_Ready for anything_. Felix repeated the phrase in his head as he walked briskly towards the apartment building. _Ready for anything. Ready for anything. I really do have to be ready for anything…_

…

The blackout occurred the next day.

Throughout the entire morning, thin neon lines had been creeping down the screen. It was a nuisance to the gamers, but not obstructing enough for anyone to go and get Mr. Litwak. Felix and Ralph both but on their game faces and went about their daily business, and they could see the Nicelanders getting increasingly nervous about the phenomenon, dying to ask what was happening. But they couldn't say anything, not during working hours.

And then, in the middle of the afternoon, it happened. The current player was at a pretty high level. Ralph was tossing bricks, ducks were flapping by languidly, and Felix was being jerked around in attempts to dodge the obstacles. Just as he swung his hammer to repair yet another shattered window, the screen went black.

Felix gasped and pressed himself against the side of the building. Something went whizzing past his head – a duck, or maybe a chunk of stone, he couldn't tell. He heard someone let out a muffled cry. Obviously they weren't stranded in total darkness, since there were in-game light sources, but it was still very difficult to see.

"Don't move," he hissed out of the side of his mouth, fearing that he'd be heard if he spoke too loudly. "Everyone, just stay calm. Stay in your places…"

On the outside, a kid's voice shouted, _"Mr. Litwak! Hey, Mr. Litwak!"_

Felix's eyes were only just starting to adjust, and he could make out a large shape crouching about him. That must have been Ralph, who fortunately had decided not to throw any more bricks in the darkness. "Are you okay down there?" he whispered.

"I'm fine. And _shhh_," Felix urged him.

After a few more tense minutes, the screen still hadn't come back on, but Mr. Litwak's voice could be heard on the outside. _"All right, young lady, what seems to be the trouble here?"_

"_I was playing and the screen just went black. I didn't touch anything, honest," _said the kid's voice.

"_Let me take a look…"_ He must have rapped against the side of the cabinet, because a deep bass clanging reverberated throughout the building. Felix struggled to keep his grip on the vibrating wall. _"Huh, looks like the power's still on. The screen must be going. What a shame."_

"_Can you fix it?"_

"_I'll ask the repairman to come in here and take a look, but to be honest, I doubt he'll be able to do anything. This is a very old game. I'm surprised that it's lasted this long."_

Felix squeezed his eyes shut. No, no, no! This couldn't be happening! He willed the screen to turn back on, to turn on and stop glitching so that Litwak could see that the game was just fine…

The distinct voices faded away into the normal dull roar of arcade sounds. Thirty seconds later, the screen flickered once, twice, then returned to working condition. It seemed dimmer than it had before, sadder, still crossed by a few stray vertical lines. Or maybe that was just a trick of the light.

Because the light was now being filtered through the foreboding orange layer of an OUT OF ORDER sign.

* * *

_A/N - Thanks so much for the OVERWHELMINGLY positive response, guys! I'm going to try to update this story every three to seven days, so don't expect super fast updates, but I definitely don't want it to die out. And as a side note, this is not a Vanellope X Ralph fic. Yes, pay no attention to that "romance" category listing there...*innocent whistle*_

_Also, I thought you guys might like to know that this story can also be found on Tumblr, where pictures of OCs and story scenes and stuff will also be posted when we get far enough. Find it at ifitaintbrokefic . tumblr . com (sans spaces)._

_Until next time, keep reviewing! You guys are all awesome!_


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